1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a foldable structure having collapsible compartments. More particularly, the invention relates to a multi-compartment defining structure which is foldable to collapse one or more compartments.
2. State of the Art
Collapsible structures having compartments for organizing and protecting different items such as grocery bags in the trunk of an automobile are well known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 3,986,656 to November discloses a collapsible package holding structure for dividing the area of a car trunk to hold grocery bags securely during transport. November's area divider consists of several cardboard panels having slots and folds which may be assembled to form a rectangular structure with up to seven internal compartments. While November's structure is collapsible, it is not adjustable in its outer dimensions. It may be collapsed into an unusable disassembled storage condition or assembled to its full size for use. The number and shape of compartments inside the fixed size rectangular structure may be varied, but the outer dimensions of the rectangular frame remain fixed and the dimensions of the inner compartments are only partly adjustable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,029,244 to Roberts discloses another type of collapsible structure for use in transporting grocery bags. Roberts teaches a railed support stand for preventing grocery bags from spilling. The stand is constructed from seven segments having upper and lower rails connected by risers forming ladder-like structures. Segments are hingedly joined so that the stand folds from a closed position to an open position having two compartments. Each compartment is a rectangular structure with hinges at each of four corners. The two rectangular compartments share a common side. Roberts' stand is somewhat more flexible than November's, but it is costly having many components and moving parts. Moreover, it is not readily adjustable for use in different sized spaces. Although one of the two compartments may be folded closed to shorten the overall length of the structure, this results in a corresponding increase in the overall width of the structure.
A folding separator with an adjustable outer dimension is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,867 to McManus. In one embodiment of the invention, McManus shows a folding cardboard structure similar to November's fixed rectangular outer structure but with extra folds in two opposite sides of the rectangular structure so that its overall width may be adjusted without affecting its overall length. Nevertheless, the overall length of McManus' folding separator remains fixed.
Thus, it will be appreciated that while many of the known collapsible folding structures have definite advantages and are useful for their intended purpose of preventing unwanted movement of packages in the trunk of an automobile while it is in motion, they all suffer a common drawback. None of the known structures is fully adjustable as to its overall size. This is a serious disadvantage since the space available for such a structure in an automobile trunk is not definite or predictable. Automobile trunks vary in size considerably and depending on other contents in the trunk, such as a spare tire, the space available for an organizing structure is tremendously variable. So in many cases, the known organizing structures prove useless since they cannot fit in the limited space available for them.